Family, Fun, and the Fourth!

June was a fun and busy month. We started out the month with Mommy and Me swim lessons. Eli loves water, but was a bit shy with the other kids and adults around. I just loved being able to sit in some nice cool water every day.

Then my parents came down and watched Mel's kids while Mel and Dave went on vacation. It was so fun to get to hang out with my parents every day. Eli loved spending some quality time with his cousins and his "Mama and Bapa," which is what he calls Grandma and Grandpa. He especially loved that Grandpa took him to get some ice cream and bought him a fire truck.

Of course, we squeezed Father's Day in the mix. Eli got his daddy a remote control Jeep, and I got them matching Father and Son ties. I think they both love both of the gifts. Eli loves wearing "ties like Daddy" every Sunday, and he especially loves that he has a matching green one with his Daddy. I think Mike really likes it, too.

My mom helped Eli make this special puzzle for Mike for father's day. Also, we don't usually let Eli run around half dressed, he was just fighting it a bit this day.

The next week Aunt Julie and Jude came to visit. I felt so spoiled being able to have my sister and cute nephew visit for a week and a half. Eli isn't too keen on sharing yet, but he was learning a lot about it with "Baby Jude" around. He loves Jude and tells me all the time he misses Baby Jude. He also thinks our guest room is Baby Jude's room. Guess they'll have to come back and visit more often!

Eli rediscovered how much fun it is to play with his baby toys.

Sharing!

Hanging with Claire. They think they are "playing" the Wii.

We decided to make quiet books for our kids. It was a bigger undertaking than we realized.

Chillin' on the drive up to Chino Valley.

I LOVE this boy!

 After Julie's visit we all went up to Chino Valley for a Romney family reunion at my parent's house over 4th of July weekend. It was awesome! Everyone was able to be there except for one of my nieces, who was going to Africa for a church mission for a few weeks. We missed her, but it sure was a blast having all the siblings and cousins together. There are 4 kids Eli's age, and it was really fun to see him play and interact with all of them. And, of course, all of the older cousins were great with the little kids. Eli tends to be a bit shy, especially in large groups, so I was a little worried that the weekend might be kind of hard on us, be he was fantastic. He had such a great time playing with all of the kids and loved being able to see all the animals around Grandma and Grandpa's house.

The dads and kids made stepping stones out of cement. I was surprised how meticulous Eli was about his and how long he worked on it.

 

Messy hands!

The boys are watching TV and the girls are in the kitchen...hmmm.,..

 

The Romney Bunch

Baby Update

I figured I need to get at least one more baby updated in before the big day, which is slowly creeping up on us! We're doing a C-section again, and we have that scheduled for August 26th, exactly one week after Daddy's birthday! It's kind of weird and cool to know that for sure Baby Brother will be here by that date, and even weirder to think that it's less than 4 weeks away!

I had Mike take some pregnancy pics up at the Romney Family Reunion. Here I am at 31 weeks. That baby bump is turning into a bit more than a bump! 

All four of us!

Eli still loves talking about Baby Brother and we are all so excited to meet this new addition to our family. We're thinking of the name Isaac, but haven't decided on a middle name yet. We've considered Malachi as a name, and are thinking of River or Ray for middle names. Who knows what we'll end up deciding on. I just know we are all really looking forward to having another baby boy in the house . . . although I am starting to feel a bit outnumbered!

Brotherly Love

While Eli is only 2 and probably doesn't quite get the concept of having a baby brother (or understand the how much it will change his little Eli-centered world) I'm convinced that he does know him on some level. Eli loves to talk about Baby Brother. He loves to wear his Big Brother T-shirt and give Baby Brother hugs through my tummy. He loves to share his cars and toys with them. He even opens books and puts them face down on my belly so Baby Brother can read, too.

I know the transition is going to be hard for Eli. I know having Mommy gone for a couple days is really going to challenge him (I've never been gone from his life for more than a few hours, so my overnight stay in the hospital will be interesting). I know Eli will struggle with sharing my attention with Baby Brother, and eventually will struggle with sharing his toys. But I am also completely convinced that these two boys already know each other. I think Eli's little spirit is already connected to his brother's little spirit, and I think this will help Eli with the transition as well.

The other day I went to get Eli up for the morning. I asked if he had a good night and he said, "Yes!" So I asked Eli what he dreamed about. His response: "Baby Brother! Play Baby Brother!" I asked him if he played with Baby Brother in his dreams and he said, "Yes!" This was the first time he's ever said this and it totally melted my heart! I am convinced Eli is already aware of this other spirit coming to join our home and that they are already making brotherly bonds together. What a lucky mom I am!